Of Course Donald Trump Said Less Testing Will Make the Coronavirus Pandemic Go Away

You know when you have a problem and you think to yourself, “If I just ignore it, the problem will go away”? Well, that’s still, despite over 100,000 deaths, what the president is doing with the coronavirus pandemic. His idea for how to take on COVID-19 is to stop testing, because then, without the testing, the numbers won’t go up. Problem solved—for him, and he’s not concerned about anyone else.

It’s not even a joke. That’s literally his suggestion for how to stop the virus—with more deaths, more destruction, and pretending like we’re not in the middle of a national health crisis because that’ll make him look better.

.⁦@realDonaldTrump⁩, in a meeting at the White House, repeats his contention that if the US stopped testing for #coronavirus, there would be few if any cases left. pic.twitter.com/zJ0ZVJVErd

— Jeff Mason (@jeffmason1) June 15, 2020

The Trump administration has, seemingly, taken to the idea that if you don’t hear about the numbers climbing, they can’t be doing so. Not only is Donald Trump pushing this idea of “if we don’t test, the numbers won’t go up,” but now Mike Pence is telling governors to push a false narrative around about whatever “progress” they’re making in combatting the outbreak.

According to The New York Times, Pence pushed the idea that the increase in cases we’ve seen as sates “reopen” for business isn’t anything new, just a matter of testing:

I would just encourage you all, as we talk about these things, to make sure and continue to explain to your citizens the magnitude of increase in testing. And that in most of the cases where we are seeing some marginal rise in number, that’s more resolved by the extraordinary work you’re doing.

The problem is not only is that a misleading way to paper over their continually botched response to this crisis, but hospitalizations are also going up, which is even harder to blame on just more testing. I feel like Spock from Star Trek, screaming about logic every single day, but there is literally no logic happening at the White House.

So I don’t feel like I’m losing whatever bit of sanity I have left, let me just … talk through this. So the idea from Trump is that if we stop testing, then the numbers will go down, because we’re not testing … but then Pence wants the government to blame the increase of cases on the fact that we’re testing? So, essentially, they’re both saying that the only reason cases are going up is because we’re testing these people—and not that we’re trying to “reopen” too quickly and not carefully enough—and once they are coughing or admitted to the hospital, THEN we can count those cases?!

I truly feel like I’m living in the Twilight Zone, because no one in the government seems to care that out of most countries hit with Coronavirus, our nearly 120,000 deaths is the highest toll by far. When will enough be enough? When someone in Trump’s personal circle gets it? Is that what it will take for this to be taken seriously?

It’s terrifying to watch Trump and Pence just ask governments to lie to people without any regard for the American people, and they clearly don’t care if they’re caught. They’re both asking for lies right in front of the public. Stay home as much as you can, keep practicing social distancing, wear masks, and I guess, at this point, just listen to doctors and trust nothing that comes out of the White House.

(image: MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)

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